Ohio’s Third Frontier fund for tech, start-ups is dwindling

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CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio fund that has provided millions of dollars for technology projects, startups and research is running out of money, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said this week.

He told a group of investors that the $180 million remaining in the Third Frontier fund won’t sustain current operations for “much longer,” The Plain Dealer reported .

Husted was asked how he feels about Third Frontier while giving a presentation to investors with the North Coast Angel Fund on Wednesday.

“I think we’ve learned what’s worked from the Third Frontier program, I think we’ve learned what maybe wasn’t as successful,” Husted said. “Those lessons, I believe, can serve as the foundation for what the future of it might be.”

He didn’t specify what that might look like, but suggested lawmakers might be motivated to support whatever comes next after seeing success in other efforts, such as a state push to make it easier for university researchers to commercialize intellectual property.

“I think those conversations are very fluid right now and where that (program) ends up for the future has yet to be seen,” Husted said.

The Greater Cleveland Partnership, a regional economic development organization, has indicated it will advocate for Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration and the GOP-led Legislature to keep the Third Frontier program going.

The programs currently operating under Third Frontier include a technology challenge seeking scientific breakthroughs to address the U.S. opioid crisis.

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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com

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